Montana Match

Parker didn’t say anything, but wondered whether she was thinking about losing her job. He wanted his girls to grow up with a realistic outlook, though he hoped his sometimesgloomy viewpoint wouldn’t unduly color their world. Still, life wasn’t fair. Sometimes it was downright unjust. There seemed to be a lot more chutes than ladders in his life.

As the game got underway, he tried to steer his thinking in a more positive direction. He was here with the family who loved him. That should be all he needed, but he sometimes wished he could have his old life back. That wasn’t going to happen. Too much animosity still existed between him and the people he knew in Stockton, and he had to protect his girls from any unkindness. That was a top priority.

After each of them had a few turns, Brittany landed on a square where a ladder propelled her to a square near the top of the board. “Wow! I liked that spin.”

“Now you’re going to win.” Rose stuck out her lower lip.

“You never know.” Brittany shrugged. “The game’s not over.”

“Yeah. She could land on that chute a few squares ahead and go way back.” Jasmine pointed to the place three spots away.

“That’s true.” Parker handed the spinner to Rose, so she could take her turn. He hoped her attitude improved. He hated dealing with her sour moods. Was it the result of the changes that had taken place on the ranch with Jenny and her family leaving, or had his less-than-sunny outlook rubbed off on Rose? He hoped he wasn’t to blame. Being a parent held a lot of responsibility, but he was still glad for the choice he’d made to adopt these little girls.

“Daddy, it’s your turn.” Rose poked his arm with the spinner.

He took his turn, realizing he’d been doing too much thinking, rather than enjoying the game. When Brittany had her next turn, she landed on the square Jasmine had mentioned earlier.

As Brittany moved her game piece down the chute to a place much closer to the beginning, she laughed and gave Jasmine a playful tickle in the ribs. “How did you know that was going to happen?”

“It almost always happens when we play.” Jasmine giggled.

Her high-pitched giggle joined Brittany’s laughter. The joyous sound touched something deep inside Parker. It felt like the warmth of a sunbeam on a cold day, but he steeled his heart against it. He would let his little girls work on his emotions, but he couldn’t let someone outside the family circle move him.

A little while later, Rose raised her arms above her head in triumph. “I won. I won.”

Parker smiled at Rose. “Good job.”

Brittany patted Rose on one arm. “You’re the champ this time.”

“I want to be the champ, so let’s play again.” Jasmine grabbed her game piece and plunked it down at the starting point.

Narrowing her gaze, Rose did the same. “Just cuz we play again doesn’t mean you’ll win. Maybe Brittany or Daddy will win.”

“That’s true.” Brittany nodded. “But she’s going to try, aren’t you, Jasmine?”

“I am.”

Rose tapped Brittany on the arm, then picked up the spinner. “I won, so I get to go first.”

“That’s right. You do.” Brittany picked up her marker. “Let’s get started.”

Parker glanced over at Brittany. What did she think of his competitive daughters? Maybe he was too worried about normal sibling rivalry, but hadn’t there been a lot more of it lately? That was another reason he needed to find a nanny. Isolated as they were, it was hard to gauge what was normal behavior. He needed another perspective.

Finally, the second game ended with Brittany as the winner. Parker reached over and put an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders. “Well, Jas, looks like you and I weren’t meant to be winners tonight.”

“Let’s play a different game.” Jasmine glanced around the room. “Can we play cards like Heather?”

Before he could formulate a response, Brittany picked up a deck of cards from the nearby end table. “Do you girls know how to play Crazy Eights?”

The little girls shook their heads.

“Then I’ll teach you. It’s easy. We’ll play a practice hand to help you learn.” As Brittany explained the rules of the game, she dealt out the cards, then with the cards exposed she showed them the strategies involved.

While Brittany helped Rose and Jasmine through the practice hand, Parker couldn’t help noticing how well Brittany related to his girls. She’d welcomed their attention and had been patient with their bursts of temper.

When they finished practicing, Jasmine placed the cards in front of Parker. “Daddy, since you won the practice game, you can deal.”

“Okay.” Parker shuffled the cards.

He tried to soak up his daughters’ joy while he dealt each person seven cards. But his thoughts didn’t linger on the happy interaction humming through the room. For some reason, being around Brittany made Parker think of the twins’ mother, Sydney. He didn’t know why. Brittany didn’t resemble Sydney in the least. Maybe it was the age. If Sydney were alive, she would be about the same age as Brittany. He’d tried to help Sydney, but he’d failed. All these years later, the failure still caused an ache deep in his soul.

While they played several games, Parker’s thoughts kept coming back to the idea of asking Brittany about the nanny position. She fit seamlessly into his family circle. He had to talk to Heather about it.

“I’ve won two games in a row.” Jasmine picked up the cards and started a clumsy attempt to shuffle them. “Daddy, you’re not doing so good now that we’re not playing a practice game. You need to pay better attention.”

“Okay, I’ll try.” Parker chuckled, knowing that his mind had been preoccupied with Brittany, rather than Crazy Eights.

Rose turned her attention to Brittany. “How come you got those brown spots all over your face?”

A blush colored Brittany’s cheeks, and Parker wanted to somehow take back his daughter’s question. He didn’t have a clue how to react to Rose’s blunt observation. Should he apologize for Rose or try to make light of it? He hadn’t thought about the fact that his girls had never been around anyone with freckles.

Brittany’s laughter rescued him from his embarrassment. “The brown spots are called freckles.”

“How come we don’t have them?” Jasmine looked first at Rose then at him.

Again Brittany saved him from having to come up with an answer. “You don’t have freckles because your skin has more melanin in it than mine.”

Jasmine knit her eyebrows. “What’s mela…nin?”

“It’s a chemical that protects the skin from the sun.” Brittany went on to elaborate about why she had freckles.

“I wish I had freckles like you.” Rose gazed at Brittany with adoration.

Shaking her head, Brittany smiled. “You’re the first person I know who wants to have freckles like me.”

“I want freckles like you, too.” Jasmine vied for Brittany’s attention.

Laughing, Brittany gathered Rose and Jasmine in a hug. “You girls are wonderful. We all need to learn to be happy with the way God made us and not wish to be like anyone else.”

The girls giggled, and Parker took in their joy. What did they think about the way Brittany talked about God with ease? Had he been wrong not to talk about God with them? He’d left that kind of talk to Delia and Jenny because he’d never resolved his own anger with God over what had happened with his job and Sydney.

As Brittany looked his way, he hated to admit that he was drawn to Brittany’s cute freckled face, too. “Okay, girls, we’re done playing games. Time for bed.”

“No,” the girls wailed in unison.

Parker stood. “Yes, you can play more tomorrow.”

“Your dad’s right. I’ll even teach you some new games, okay?” Brittany gave the girls another quick hug, then glanced in his direction, seeking his confirmation.